Lil' White Lies
by Xanderette43
Summary: Dawn's been lying about someone....
1. Default Chapter

Title: Lil' White Lies  
Author: Christine  
E-mail: Xanderette43@hotmail.com  
Rating: R  
Spoilers: Three years after the season five finale 'The Gift'.  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, blah blah blah... you know the drill by now.  
Dedication: To Regina cause you rock girl! whooo whoo!  
Distribution: You can take it, just let me know where its going. :)  
  
  
  
The sun had just disappeared behind the horizon when Dawn slowly crept down the stairs, making sure they didn't creak. She got to the bottom and looked around cautiously before tiptoeing to the front door. Just as she opened it up, it slammed shut and Dawn winced. She turned around and saw Willow and Xander standing down the hallway with their arms crossed over their chests. Dawn sighed.  
  
"Um, hi guys."  
  
Willow walked over to Dawn and raised her eyebrows. "Dawnie I thought Xander and I went over this with you. You have to tell us where you're going!"   
  
Dawn rolled her eyes. Everytime she went somewhere, Willow freaked out. She was seventeen and the Scoobies still thought she was a baby. She also knew that they'd really flip out if they knew where she was going for real. She hated lying to them, but she knew the truth would hurt them more then the lies.  
  
"Guys, I'm just going over to Regina's house, she's having some people over and I promised her that I'd help her set up balloons and stuff. Please don't make a big deal out of this."  
  
Willow's features softened. She knew that they all were a little hard on Dawn, but it was only because they knew that the rustling behind the bushes weren't just bunnies. She also knew that Dawn was almost eighteen and didn't need to be told what to do anymore, but since Buffy's death three years ago, they had all assumed the role of Dawn's parents, with Willow and Xander officially adopting her so that she wouldn't be taken away.  
  
Xander walked over to Dawn and put a hand on her shoulder. "Dawn, we just don't want you to get hurt... you know as well as we do what's out there, and we don't want anything happening to you or anyone else."  
  
Dawn smiled softly at him and Willow. "I won't be there all night, I'll be back in a few hours I promise."  
  
Willow looked at Xander and then back at Dawn. "All right, but be back before one o'clock okay?"  
  
Dawn nodded. "I promise."  
  
She hugged them both and zipped up her jacket as she walked out the front door. "Bye guys, I'll see you later!"  
  
Willow and Xander watched her walk from the driveway on to the sidewalk and noticed she turned right instead of left where Regina's house was a few blocks down. Willow looked at Xander who had on the same confused look as she did. Something was up, but neither of them knew what.  
  
***  
  
Dawn rounded the corner of Rosewood Dr. and stopped when she saw the familiar pathway. She made her way through the field until she reached the building and opened the door slowly, not wanting to draw unwanted attention to herself from making a lot of noise. She slid in through the small opening and closed the heavy door behind her and leaned up against it and smiled as she glanced around the room and saw that there were hundreds of candles lit all around the room. She slowly unzipped her jacket and tossed it to the ground. She walked to the middle of the room and leaned down to smell the vanilla fragrance that drifted around the room when a pair of arms encircled her waist and spun her around.   
  
"Hullo Nibblin, I missed you."  
  
  



	2. Part Two

Part Two  
  
It was well past two o'clock in the morning when Dawn climbed in through the open window in her bedroom. She moved slowly as to make sure nothing fell and made noise. She tossed her jacket on the her silver butterfly chair in the far corner and opened her closet to get a pair of sweatpants and a tank top out. She quickly got out of her clothes and put on her pajamas while quickly searching her room for her diary.   
  
She bent down underneath her bed and saw it laying there with her pen next to it. 'Whew. I thought I lost it.' Dawn picked it up and nearly screamed when she saw Willow and Xander standing in her doorway with majorly pissed off faces. 'I am so screwed,' Dawn thought as she quickly tried to find an excuse as to why she was well over two hours late.   
  
Willow walked into the room and stared at Dawn. "Why were you late coming home Dawn?"  
  
Dawn thought for a second then responded. "I um, I well Regina needed help cleaning up after the little shindig you know so well me being her best friend and all helped her."  
  
Willow looked back at the doorway where Xander stood and raised her eyebrows. He stepped up to where Willow was. "Why don't you tell us the truth Dawn."  
  
Dawn's eyes widened. How did they know she was lying? She knew that she wasn't a terrific liar by any standards, but she knew her story was believable. "Guys, seriously, I was at Regina's house."  
  
Willow sighed. "Dawn, Regina called six hours ago and asked if you were home because she wanted to go see a movie with you."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Xander sat down on her bed and motioned for her to do the same. "Why don't you tell us the truth now."  
  
Dawn thought for a moment. There was no way she could spill the beans to Willow and Xander about her and Spike. They'd kill her and then they'd hunt him down.  
  
"You want the truth?"  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
"Well, I sort of have a boyfriend, but I'm just not ready for everyone to know yet, and I'm not doing anything bad with him, just hanging out."  
  
The angry look on Willow's face faded a little as she took a seat on the other side of Dawn. "Dawnie, why couldn't ya tell us? We're your friends, we love you. You can tell us anything and we wouldn't judge you ever."  
  
Dawn smiled at them but she knew that the statement Willow just made would be completely forgotten if they knew her 'boyfriend' was a bleached blonde vampire named Spike.   
  
Xander ruffled Dawn's hair and grinned. "See? Was the truth so bad?"  
  
Dawn stifled a groan. It tore her apart by keeping something like this away from two of the people that meant the most to her, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell them.... not tonight anyway. "Nope, it felt good to tell you."  
  
Willow smiled. "That's the spirit! Now what's the lucky lad's name?"  
  
Xander looked quizzically at Willow. "Lad? Are we in Ireland Will?"  
  
Willow stuck her tongue out at him and then turned back to Dawn. "So what's his name?"  
  
Dawn said the first name that came to mind. "Billy."  
  
Xander and Willow smiled at each other and nodded. "That's great Dawnie! You'll have to invite him over for pizza or something one day."  
  
Dawn shook her head. "Well, um he doesn't really like pizza, or a lot of food actually."  
  
Willow shrugged. "Well, we'll order whatever he likes okay?"  
  
Dawn nodded. "Sure Will."  
  
Willow hugged her and then took Xander's hand as they got up to leave the room. They were at the doorway when Xander turned around. "Oh and if he ever hurts you, I'll kill him." He shut her door and she fell back on to her bed and picked up her diary.  
  
'Somehow, I don't think he could even lay a hand on him if he tried.'  



	3. Part Three

Part Three  
  
Dawn's list of excuses to use to see Spike was growing shorter by the day. She knew Willow was getting suspicious and kept asking Dawn to invite 'Billy' over for dinner one night, but Dawn kept telling her that she wasn't ready for anyone to meet him just yet.  
  
As she was lacing up her sneakers, she heard a knock on her window. She jumped up and ran to it, pulling up the blinds. "Spike! What are you doing here? You know Willow's home!"  
  
Spike grinned mischievously. "And you know how I love living on the edge Nibblin."  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes and opened her window wider to let him in. He slid in stealthily and Dawn put a finger to her lips to make sure he didn't talk loud. "You have to be quiet, she's downstairs in the kitchen." She put her hand to his cheek and he leaned into it. "How are you doing?"  
  
Spike tilted his head and kissed her palm. "Fine now that I'm with you." He leaned closer to her and captured her lips with his own gently. Dawn's tense body suddenly became weak and Spike held onto her tightly as he walked them both over towards her bed. Dawn realized what he was doing and broke the kiss. "Spike we can't... not here, if Willow came in-"  
  
Spike put his finger to her lips to quiet her. "Then let's go somewhere else Nibblet." He gestured to her open window. Dawn shook her head. "Why the bloody hell not?"  
  
Dawn pointed to her door. "Willow told me the other day she wants to know when I go out, so I can't just sneak out the window!"  
  
Spike sighed. "Nibblet, you're almost 18, don't you think the bloody scoobies should just back off?"  
  
"Yeah, but if they found out about you and me.... they'd try to stake you in a second." Dawn sighed and sat down on her bed defeated. Spike sat down beside her and slipped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him.   
  
"Dawn, you know as well I as do they don't have a bloody frigging chance of staking big bad Spike. That chip's been out of my skull the past two years so if they tried anything, I could stop them in an instant."  
  
"I know, but..."  
  
Spike put his finger to her lips. "But nothing Luv. Come on, let's go have some fun."   
  
Dawn kissed his finger softly, and then nodded in agreement. "Ok, you win."  
  
Spike grinned as he patted her gently on the head. "I always win Nibblin."  
  
***  
  
"Dawn! I just made dinner, do you want to come down?" Willow was standing on the last step of the staircase, pot holders grasped firmly in her hands. When she got no response, she called up again. Still nothing.   
  
Willow rolled her eyes and walked briskly up the stairs, turning right and knocked on Dawn's bedroom door. "Dawnie?" No answer.   
Willow turned the doorknob and sighed when she saw that the window was wide open and no one was in the room. "Dammit!" She was about to turn around and go back downstairs when she smelled something vaguely familiar in Dawn's bedroom. She walked to the middle of the room and breathed in. Willow's eyes grew wide when she realized what she smelled was cigarettes.   
  
She marched downstairs and was about to call Xander on his cell phone when the front door opened and he walked in. He saw the look on her face and immediately walked over and hugged her. "Wills, what's the matter?"  
  
Willow sighed and held on to him. "Its Dawn... she left again, went out through her window."  
  
"Well we'll just have to talk to her again when she comes back. I'm sure she just went to visit her friends or that guy Billy."  
  
Willow rolled her eyes and sat down on the stairs. "I don't think she's dating anyone named Billy."  
  
Xander's face clouded with confusion. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Willow pointed upstairs. "Go upstairs to her room and take a whiff."  
  
Xander shrugged and slowly trudged up the staircase and went into Dawn's room. A minute later he came back down and his face was ashen. They both said his name simultaneously.   
  
"Spike."  
  



End file.
